Sheep Farm Felt

Hi, friends! Welcome to the Psalm 23 Mug challenge, where I encourage you to spend time with your Shepherd from the first sip to the last of your morning coffee (or whatever you drink!) Here you will find prompts from Psalm 23 to pray through.  Feel free to jump in any week, or you can start from the beginning here.

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 23:6b

The life of a shepherd in David’s time was nomadic.  The flock constantly needed to be moved to fresh pastures, places where they could find water and safety from predators. The twenty third Psalm traces the footsteps of the shepherd with action words:

v. 1- provides

v. 2- makes me lie down, leads

v. 3- refreshes, guides

v. 4- walks, takes away fear, comforts

v. 5- prepares, anoints, overflows my cup

v. 6- follows with His goodness and mercy

All of these words can be put into two categories:  Movement and Care.

These two actions are synchronous with once another.  A shepherd can not show care to his sheep without moving the flock to where they need to find nourishment or safety.

This is why I love how David ends this Psalm.  Not with walking, following, leading, laying down, drinking, eating, or moving.  But with dwelling.  Can you imagine how the sweetest most unfulfilled dream of shepherd who never had a true forever home would view the permanency of Heaven?  Oh to be in that sweet place with Jesus and never have to worry about shadows of sadness or death, hunger, exhaustion, or threat of attack!  The psalmist doesn’t end the passage with dreaming of sitting in the house of the Lord forever, or standing, or eating, or walking, or sleep.  Just dwelling.  To be with Jesus is enough. 

Dwelling has been the discipline that you have been practicing all along on this journey through the Psalms.  To be with Jesus, enjoying His presence and the promises He has given you.  It is a difficult task to sit and not be distracted, yet if there is anything that can take your mind off the worries of this world it is this:  Heaven.

Today as you finish your journey through the psalm (and your last Psalm 23 mug challenge!) , I want encourage you to put your mind on things of Heaven.  What do you think it is going to be like? What are the things you will see, hear, smell, taste, and touch?  Who will you talk to?  What questions will you ask? Ask God to reveal ways that you can encourage others with the promise of Heaven.  

In this world filled with trouble, I don’t think we spend nearly enough time just imagining the sweetness of a permanent home with our Shepherd.  I pray that it will change your perspective as you go about your day.

I know that you’ve probably heard this song many times, but I hope it can encourage you!   

Blessings, sweet friend, and thank you for taking this journey with me.

Megan

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

Please post a photo of your mug with #Psalm23mugchallenge (or screen shot and share my image) to encourage others to join us! I’d love to hear your thoughts and reflections from the day’s challenge.

What has been your biggest take-away of this entire challenge?

Hi, friends! Welcome to the Psalm 23 Mug challenge, where I encourage you to spend time with your Shepherd from the first sip to the last of your morning coffee (or whatever you drink!) Here you will find prompts from Psalm 23 to pray through.  Feel free to jump in any week, or you can start from the beginning here.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.

Psalm 23:6a

My husband is determined to have our little flock like him the best.  This summer after mowing the lawn every few days, he would dump all the the grass trimmings into the sheep pen.  He has done this so often that every time they see him, they come running, expecting a treat.  His very presence has become synonymous with goodness.

That’s why I love that this Psalm is book-ended with this idea of following, when in the beginning, David spoke most about the Shepherd leading.  It is this never-ending cycle of us following our Shepherd, while goodness and mercy chase us down.

And it isn’t just in the last and first verse of this Psalm that talks about the position of the Shepherd’s presence.  Please take a minute to read it again:

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

v. 2- The shepherd leads you- He walks before you, showing you where to go.

v. 3- The shepherd restores your soul- He heals inside of you.

v. 4 The shepherd walks with you- He is beside you.

v.5 The shepherd prepares a table before you- He has planned ahead of you.

v. 5 The shepherd anoints you with oil- He pours over you.

v. 5 The shepherd overflows your cup- God’s Spirit pours out of you.

v. 6 The shepherd’s goodness and mercy follow you- He is behind you.

Isn’t knowing God’s omnipresence the most amazing gift?  As a follower of the Good Shepherd, you have been hemmed in on all sides- beside, before, behind, over, in, and through.

Today as you sip your morning drink, reflect on instances in your life where you have experienced God’s presence in each of these ways.  Pray that when God seems distant, He will remind you of all the ways He has been faithful.

His presence is synonymous with goodness.

You are not alone.

Blessings, sweet friend,

Megan

Please post a photo of your mug with #Psalm23mugchallenge (or screen shot and share my image) to encourage others to join us! I’d love to hear your thoughts and reflections from the day’s challenge.

Hi, friends! Welcome to the Psalm 23 Mug challenge, where I encourage you to spend time with your Shepherd from the first sip to the last of your morning coffee (or whatever you drink!) Here you will find prompts from Psalm 23 to pray through.  Feel free to jump in any week, or you can start from the beginning here.

You anoint my head with oil.  My cup runneth over.

Psalm 23:5b

I’ve read over this Psalm probably hundreds of times in my life, and I just love the way God is always revealing something new about Himself even in familiar passages. I’ll post the psalm in its entirety here and I want to see if you can pick up on a subtle shift that happens between verses 4 and 5.

First of all, you see David compare God as a Shepherd, and then God as a host.

Secondly, and what I found most interesting, he transitions from talking about God to talking to God.  Why the change?

I believe there is an intimacy that is reached when we go from knowing God, to experiencing Him.  He is not just a provider, an overseer, a guide, or giver of good things. He proves Himself faithful when He walks the hard roads with us.  It is then we call Him Friend and Father.  It is in this verse that David paints a picture of God setting the table, and then sets the scene for what happens when we are sitting there.

He anoints my head with oil. My cup overflows.

Culturally in the East, the guest of honor would have oil or perfume poured over them to symbolize love and respect.  Next, they would be given a choice glass of wine where the host carefully overflowed the vessel to imply that while they remained at the table, the guest would lack for nothing.

While you enjoy your time sipping your coffee today, I would challenge you to reflect on the names of God that you most identify with.  Feel free to use Psalm 23 as a guide.

“God you are my ______________________”

Are there any titles that you feel uncomfortable with?  Any kind of relationship that you wish to develop further? Maybe you feel comfortable referring to God as your “friend” but not as “Father.” Spend some time in reflection asking God for ways that He can draw you closer to Himself so that when you commune with Him, you can experience all the love He has to offer so it can be poured out and shared with others.

Here is my absolute favorite song about how God reveals Himself in different ways in the various seasons of our lives.

Blessings, sweet friend,

Megan

Please post a photo of your mug with #Psalm23mugchallenge (or screen shot and share my image) to encourage others to join us! I’d love to hear your thoughts and reflections from the day’s challenge.

Hi, friends! Welcome to the Psalm 23 Mug challenge, where I encourage you to spend time with your Shepherd from the first sip to the last of your morning coffee (or whatever you drink!) Here you will find prompts from Psalm 23 to pray through.  Feel free to jump in any week, or you can start from the beginning here.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

Psalm 23:5a

I love the imagery of Psalm 23.  The peaceful stream, the green grass, the dark valley.   And then there’s this verse.  From the time I can remember first hearing this passage, I always pictured the Shepherd setting up a table with bountiful blessings, and then making my enemy come and watch me eat so they could see what they were missing.  With me sticking my tongue out in between bites and saying, “Ha ha….the Shepherd likes me more than you.”  Am I the only one who envisioned this scenario?

It turns out that is not what this verse means.

When a soldier is in battle (or David, who spent a good portion of his life hiding and running from a king who was trying to kill him), setting up a table and taking time to enjoy a meal was not on their list of top priorities.  When an enemy can attack at any moment, you must always be on guard.  Chewing slowly, savoring, sipping, and relaxing and conversing at a table is pure luxury that one could not afford.

Psalm 23:5 paints the beautiful paradox of the Shepherd as both Defender and Host.

He prepares good things for you, and lavishes in your company while you sit in His presence, all the while shouldering the burden of anything that should come to try to steal you away.

While you may not have real enemies that are trying to literally destroy you, distractions abound.  They pull your attention so fiercely that it makes it impossible to enjoy the company of your Savior.

Today as you have set aside time to sit quietly with your Shepherd, be comforted that He has prepared good things for you.  As you take each sip, confess the distractions that are trying keep you from enjoying all that God has for you.

Put your own “enemy” in this verse…..

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of ________________________.”

Examples: my unfolded laundry, my need to please other people, exhaustion…..whatever the excuse you use that keeps you from getting to the table.

What are some of the good things you are hoping to receive when take the time to ignore those distractions?

Here’s a bonus challenge: Spend a few minutes preparing a table one time this week. This could mean getting out your fine china, or your tea set that’s collecting dust, or even just setting out a breakfast buffet of cereal for your kids before they wake up.  You can cover the table with brown craft paper and set up crayons and stickers for your kids or grandkids, or make place cards for your family members, or get out some craft supplies, or make an ice cream buffet with all the toppings.  Whatever it is, spend some time preparing to enjoy someone’s company at a table this week.  Watch the delight in your company’s eyes realizing that they are special enough to prepare a table for.

And then let that time be a tangible reminder to you of how excited the Shepherd is to have you at HIS table.

Praise God, our Defender, who has prepared a bounty for you today.

Blessings, sweet friend,

Megan

Please post a photo of your mug with #Psalm23mugchallenge (or screen shot and share my image) to encourage others to join us! I’d love to hear your thoughts and reflections from the day’s challenge.

Hi, friends! Welcome to the Psalm 23 Mug challenge, where I encourage you to spend time with your Shepherd from the first sip to the last of your morning coffee (or whatever you drink!) Here you will find prompts from Psalm 23 to pray through.  Feel free to jump in any week, or you can start from the beginning here.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.  Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

The staff is a multi-use tool that a shepherd uses to care for his flock. As a nomad, the shepherd had to travel with few possessions, so it was important that what he carried with him, he could use for many tasks.

• A walking stick
• A tool for defense against predators
• A tool to wave and shoo the flock in a certain direction
• A counting tool: A shepherd would count and examine each sheep as it passed “under the rod”
•  The crook would be able to grab a sheep if it fell into crevice or climbed a rock higher than the shepherd could reach with hands

But the sheep did not see the staff as a tool.  To the sheep, the staff is a tangible reminder of the truths it knows about the shepherd.

• He walks with me.
• He protects me.
• He shows me where I can and can not go so I stay safe.
• I matter.  He is aware of my health.
• Even if I go where I should not, He can reach me and bring me back into His arms.

While you may not look at a shepherd’s staff and be comforted, I believe that God, in his unending pursuit to draw us closer to Himself, gives us all tangible reminders of His tender mercy and care throughout our day in order to keep our eyes away from worry and despair.

You are surrounded by people, objects, and situations that are little love notes that point you towards God’s Word and the truth about Himself.

And I know this may sound very silly, but for me- it’s birds.  The red of a cardinal, the yellow of the goldfinch, the color under the wings of a tufted titmouse… to me they are all reminders of the gift of color. The flutter of small wings speak truth about the graciousness of our Creator to not have us live in a world that is only black and white and shadows.  We could have been given a gray world, and He chose to not only fill it with color, but then gave us the ability to see it.

(Maybe that’s why I love my job so much. )  🙂

Today as you meditate on this verse, I pray that God would give you the eyes to see the truths about Himself that He is trying to reveal to you.  What will your “rod and staff” be?  Today, your task is to go on adventure….start today’s scavenger hunt to find all the ways God is pursuing you and trying to draw you closer to Himself with His little love notes.  I can’t wait for you to start this day, and neither can your Shepherd.

Here is a song of praise to the God of the hills and valleys  who is walking beside you.

Blessings, sweet friend,

Megan

Please post a photo of your mug with #Psalm23mugchallenge (or screen shot and share my image) to encourage others to join us! I’d love to hear your thoughts and reflections from the day’s challenge.

Hi, friends! Welcome to the Psalm 23 Mug challenge, where I encourage you to spend time with your Shepherd from the first sip to the last of your morning coffee (or whatever you drink!) Here you will find prompts from Psalm 23 to pray through.  Feel free to jump in any week, or you can start from the beginning here.

 He leads me in paths of righteousness for His names sake.

Psalm 23:3b

For those who have walked the path of righteous living know what a sweet fulfilling road it can be.  You watch God meet your needs with great care when you submit yourself to walking in His ways.  However, there are two things that a leader controls that a follower does not:

Direction and Pace

I admit I have not always been happy with the latter.  Can you relate? I can look back on the seasons of my life marked with bitterness and discontentment because God was not allowing things to happen faster.

Having a job but wanting a career.

Dating but wanting to be engaged.

Engaged but wanting to be married.

Married  but wanting babies.

Having babies but …FOR THE LOVE…will they ever be done with diapers!?!?!  (See what I mean?)

But I have learned that in wanting to go ahead of what God has for me, I am not only missing out on the joy and blessing of today, I am missing something perhaps much much more important:

The flock

With each season of life God surrounds us with a particular group of people to go on this journey with. While the Shepherd does not change, our circle of influence certainly does.  There are 3 groups of people I would like you to reflect on as you complete your challenge today.

• Those who walk before you: People who have traveled a similar path and come out of a trial or stage declaring “God is good.”
• Those who walk beside you: People who are on the same life stage as you, struggling with the same challenges that you are.
• Those who walk behind you: People who are looking to your for advice and encouragement as they struggle with challenges that you have already faced.

For every sip you take, thank God for the people that He has put on your life path, even when it seems a certain season in your life is taking longer than you would like. Thank Him for the people that have gone through trials before you to help guide and encourage you. Thank Him for the people that He has put beside you to experience similar trials. Pray for those who will follow behind you and look to your for advice and encouragement when they go through a trial you have already gone through.

Pray for God to reveal ways that you can engage with and encourage one or more of your particular flock members this week.  This, friends, is righteous living for His name’s sake:

Being content with the direction and pace of your life,

and loving those God has surrounded you with along the way.

Here is one of my favorite hymns to listen to today before you start your day.  Praying you will have peace trusting in Jesus, friend.

Blessings,

Megan

Please post a photo of your mug with #Psalm23mugchallenge (or screen shot and share my image) to encourage others to join us! I’d love to hear your thoughts and reflections from the day’s challenge.

 He makes me to lie down in green pastures. 

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul. 

Psalm 23:2-3a

I’ve recently rescued three ewes from the meat market auction house and welcomed them to my homestead.  These three-year-olds had come from a very large farm where they were not handled much by their owner.  Their fleeces were so long-overdue for a shearing that they had been rubbing their backs on trees and fencing to remove it themselves, leaving wool-less patches of sore red bald spots.

I have never met sheep that were so skittish.  As much I wanted to restore them to health, every time I would come close to them, they would jump up from a resting position, wide-eyed, stiff-legged, and in flight mode.  They would huddle together, anxious to see when the others would bolt and they could follow.

I was wracked with guilt when I would catch them in the barn trying to find relief from the heat of their fleeces, and my mere presence would ensue panic.

So I gave them space.  I fed my other three by hand so they could see I am one who could be trusted.  I sat in the barn and just talked, letting my presence and my voice wash over them until it became normal that I was there.  It was then I learned this lesson:

There is no restoration without rest.

There is no rest without trust.

There is no trust without a consistent history of provision.

There is no Psalm 23:2 without a foundation of Psalm 23:1.

There is no savoring God’s goodness

until we have acquired the taste for His Greatness.

Last week, I had you pray through the first verse of Psalm 23, listing all the ways God has met your needs.  Still, so many of us feel unable to experience the blissful exhale that comes from standing the the shadow of the shepherd.  Why?  Might I suggest that anxiety, worry, and despair all come from the inability to trust in the One who has already proven Himself faithful in so many circumstances of your life.

Today with your mug in hand, as you take each sip, I challenge you to start each sentence with the words, “I trust you with ______________________.”

Let The Good Shepherd remove any anxieties and insecurities that are burdensome and not allowing you to experience joy and rest in His presence.  Otherwise, dear friend, it’s like you’re trying to pick away at your own dirty fleece one chunk at a time and wondering why you are finding no relief.

When your cup is empty, I pray that your joy may be full.  Please consider listening to this song.  It is one of my all time favorites, and the second verse spoke volumes to me during today’s challenge!

Blessings,

Megan

Please post a photo of your mug with #Psalm23mugchallenge (or screen shot and share my image) to encourage others to join us! I’d love to hear your thoughts and reflections from the day’s challenge.

 Good morning, friends!

Welcome to Day 1 of the Psalm23 Mug challenge! 

I wanted a way to invite and encourage you to have some deliberate and intimate time with your Shepherd as you begin your morning routine with coffee or tea.  Every week, I’ll be sharing ideas and prompts to pray for and meditate on based on Psalm 23.

These will begin on July 17th, 2017 and will be posted for 8 consecutive weeks, but I’ll be sure to leave these up as a reference if anyone would like to join afterwards.  Feel free to hop in at any time! I hope and pray this will be a blessing to you as you commit to spending time with the Good Shepherd for at least as long as it takes for you to complete your last sip. 🙂

A psalm of David, a shepherd boy.  

The work of a shepherd is to meet the needs of his flock.

• He gives them nourishment, by either bringing it to them or by leading them to places where they can easily find it.
• He quenches their thirst by providing a clean water source ready and available at any time they should need it.
• He gives them shelter from rain, wind, and snow.
• He safeguards them from predators, poisonous plants, pitfalls, and situations that could be harmful to them.
• He removes the burden of their fleeces once a year when the heat becomes unbearable.  He takes that fleece, washes away all impurities, and makes something beautiful and useful out of it.
• He surrounds them with other sheep who make them feel safe.
• He pays close attention to those who have lambs, making sure they have all they need to nourish and care for their young.

For every sip you take, thank your Shepherd for one way He has provided for you in the ways listed above.  Take your time. Savor each thought as you drink, reflecting on the goodness of the One who made you, knows you, loves you, and meets your every need.

• Your physical needs
• Your spiritual needs
• Your emotional needs
• Your relational needs

Then pray for ways that He is looking to use YOU to fulfill other’s needs. Ask that He will fill you up when your cup feels empty so you can give generously to all those He is asking you to.

And as you reach the bottom of your cup, please consider listening to this song.  I hope the resonating truths will be with you long after the caffeine’s effects have subsided.

Blessings, sweet friends.

-Megan

Please post a photo of your mug with #Psalm23mugchallenge (or screen shot and share my image) to encourage others to join us! I’d love to hear your thoughts and reflections from the day’s challenge.

I love spreading my love of wool, sheep, and color one felt ball at a time!